Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 51
“Many years ago, there was a girl named Luna. Her husband was murdered, his heart dug out and missing, and his limbs chopped off. Later, there were rumors claiming Luna was a witch, asserting that she took her husband’s heart and limbs to cast some sort of spell.”
“But in reality, Luna’s husband was unfaithful. He not only had an affair but also often abused Luna. During one of the assaults, Luna killed him. Luna indeed was a witch, but all she did was for self-defense.”
“As for the man’s heart, it was stolen by the mistress, who also mutilated the corpse. She merely wanted to hide her affair, attributing all misdeeds to Luna’s witchcraft.”
Sarah truthfully answered Zhou Qian’s questions, continuing with a sigh, “There has never been such a horrifying murder in the nearby towns. That mistress was a journalist. With her embellished writing, everyone started fearing witches.”
“Then, inexplicably… wherever there was a death, a theft, or even a wife having an affair… all the ungrounded accusations were blamed on witchcraft. So—”
“People, to cover up their crimes, blamed everything on witches. That’s why they are so detested now.”
Changing her tone, Sarah continued, “In conclusion, the aversion to witches is due to a series of long-standing misunderstandings. We are indeed hiding at the base now, unable to let others notice. But once we rescue Beautiful Flower Town, people will recognize our merits.”
By the end, Sarah’s tone was filled with inspiring power and a kind of magical allure.
“We will clear our names of all false accusations! We are not harmful demons. We are saviors! We will rid the town of all evil spirits and let everyone see us in a new light!”
“We won’t hide in the shadows forever. One day, we will stand under the sun with dignity!”
At her words, the two witches behind her immediately agreed—
“The president is right!”
“Your voice is choking, Madam President. You’ve been working too hard.”
“We have suffered so much over the years.”
“We will always follow in your footsteps!”
……
Moments later, the three witches were at the door, waiting for the players to change before leaving with them. Looking at their silhouettes, Qi Liuxing whispered to Zhou Qian, “The way she spoke… seemed very much like a pyramid scheme leader.”
The usually quiet Situ Qing unexpectedly said, “Haven’t you noticed that Zhou Qian is often like that too?”
Qi Liuxing: ?
Situ Qing raised her eyebrows. “So you haven’t realized that you have been recruited by Zhou Qian?”
Qi Liuxing blinked and saw that Situ Qing had already changed into her black skirt. He frowned at Zhou Qian and Ke Yuxiao. “No way, no way. We are not really going to wear skirts, are we? Rebel!”
Seeing no response from Ke Yuxiao and Zhou Qian, Qi Liuxing’s pupils dilated. “No, as a dignified man—”
“How old are you? Dignified man,” Zhou Qian retorted, naturally examining a dress. “It’s actually not bad. It’s similar to a warlock’s robe; it won’t look too feminine.”
“No—” Qi Liuxing frowned deeply. “A man can be killed but not humiliated! How can this be?! The system is crazy!”
Zhou Qian asked in surprise, “Don’t you find sneaking into the witches’ base in disguise exciting?”
Qi Liuxing gave him a “you must be sick too” look.
Then Ke Yuxiao said, “Xiao Qi, when we entered the instance, the system said we would undergo changes to adapt. This change may refer to ‘monsterization’.
“But now, the witches blame all this on evil spirits; this might be the real problem. If we enter the base as men, we might be attacked by real witches, so let’s disguise ourselves and investigate.”
Although Qi Liuxing still looked uncomfortable, he didn’t refute and obediently picked up the dress.
Seeing this, Zhou Qian, dressed in the black dress and robe, headed to the study while lamenting, “Situ Qing accuses me of running a pyramid scheme. Look, even if I did recruit a follower, how is it now? He follows others at a wave. Who is the real pyramid schemer? Definitely not me.”
Qi Liuxing, confused, asked, “Zhou Qian, what are you talking about?”
“I said you definitely wouldn’t save me if I’m drowning.” Zhou Qian closed the door forcefully.
Qi Liuxing: ?
Ke Yuxiao: ??
Situ Qing: ……
Alone, Zhou Qian entered the study room and changed into a witch’s clothes, his eyes focusing on the various clues they had found earlier. Catching on to something, he stepped forward, placed a few items in his bag, then opened the door and returned to the living room.
……
Ten minutes later.
All seven players, dressed in witches’ black skirts with black robes and capes and faces veiled with black gauze, left Eva’s residence and entered the town overtaken by bizarre flora.
Three witches skillfully led everyone forward. It was apparent that they often came here to look for survivors or to exterminate evil spirits, as they were taking paths with fewer plants. Thus, everyone could quickly pass through the town and leave. Otherwise, finding a path in a town full of strange flowers and plants without a guide wouldn’t be easy.
Soon, Zhou Qian and the others seemed to have reached the outskirts of the town, following the witches. Then they crossed a small bridge and entered a forest. All the trees in the forest were very strange. They were several times larger than ordinary trees, with twisted trunks and nauseating lumps, as if many flesh balls had grown out of thin air.
At the end of the forest, there was a bus parked.
When the witches called everyone to board the bus, Zhou Qian didn’t immediately go. Instead, he looked at the other end of the forest—there was another town not far away.
There seemed to be an invisible barrier between the other town and this forest. It was like a new world—without any strange flowers and plants—just a very normal town.
Unexpectedly, Zhou Qian saw another bizarre butterfly fly over. One side of its body had normal butterfly wings, but the other half had a large flesh ball on it, horrifying and nauseating. When this butterfly was about to fly out of the forest towards the opposite town, as if it hit something or was intercepted by some invisible force, it didn’t continue forward and had to turn around and fly back immediately.
A large shadow appeared above the players’ heads, disappearing after a while.
It was caused by the giant butterfly flying back over their heads.
A moment later, everyone got on the bus, and the driver started the vehicle. The driver, dressed in a black robe, must be the fourth witch waiting here. As for the previous three witches, after boarding, two witches sat at the back of the bus, and President Sarah sat in the front row.
The players chose seats in the middle of the bus.
Zhou Qian sat directly next to Sarah.
Probably, the sealed bus could also guard against evil spirits, so Sarah took off her veil and cloak at this moment. From the side, Zhou Qian could see her high nose bridge and golden eyelashes. He had to sigh again. Sarah was really beautiful—a kind of rare androgynous beauty.
Although she had heavy makeup on, her demeanor wasn’t feminine. It felt quite wonderful.
Looking past her perfect face, Zhou Qian noticed that every time they turned, the driver deliberately avoided the main road and chose to leave through a small road.
Zhou Qian particularly noticed a sign on the secluded mountain road they just passed.
It read: [If you get lost on the mountain or encounter any difficulties, you can call the Mayor’s Hotline: 26-111.]
The Mayor? The one mentioned by the system… The one who likes to play “24” points Mayor?
Zhou Qian narrowed his eyes, pretending to see nothing.
Then he turned his head and asked Sarah again, “What’s the deal with the town across from that forest just now?”
Sarah turned her head and met his gaze without hesitation.
Their eyes, one black and one blue, met in this strange and eerie instance. Sarah answered with her unique pleasant voice, “It’s also a new Beautiful Flower Town, just finished not long ago. It’s where the townspeople live after relocating. The river before entering the forest is called Little White River. The north side of the river is infected by evil spirits. The south side is temporarily safe.”
“Yes.” A witch added from behind, “It’s all thanks to our president, who set up a magic barrier at the end of the forest. You all saw just now; that strange butterfly couldn’t get across.”
“I see… President, you’re really great.” Zhou Qian sincerely complimented Sarah and then asked, “Do you know what’s the deal with the ‘Strawberry Music Festival’? Is it held every year?”
“Yes.” Sarah said, “It is the favorite festival of the children. There are many strawberry gardens on Weir Mountain. Every March 31st, the mayor organizes children to go there to pick strawberries. On this day, the mayor also invites many bands and singers to perform for the children, allowing everyone to celebrate the festival. Well… picking strawberries during the day and listening to music and watching fireworks at night… that day is a great experience for every child.”
“Where is Weir Mountain?” Zhou Qian asked.
Sara replied, “It is at the northernmost part of Beautiful Flower Town.”
“So…” Zhou Qian asked her, “Has that place also been corrupted by evil spirits?”
“Yes. It is the most severe place,” Sarah said.
“Are these strange plants here… also because they are possessed by evil spirits?” Zhou Qian asked.
“It should be,” Sarah said. “There is only such an explanation. People are infected by evil spirits and turn into monsters that kill. Plants do not kill, but they also become strange in shape.”
Zhou Qian wanted to ask something more, but Sarah turned her head to look at him and made a serious gesture of silence. “We will be arriving at the base soon. You guys don’t talk, to avoid exposure. The few of us on this bus have no animosity towards warlocks. But others are not the same. If they bully you, just let it be. If it’s serious… they might kill you.”
Hearing this, Zhou Qian was silent, but he secretly entered the system trade hall to buy props. He remembered seeing someone selling voice changers. Now he found it still listed there, with many voices to choose from.
Zhou Qian cheerfully ordered a [Cute Lolita Voice] changer and then gifted it to Qi Liuxing. Of course, he didn’t forget to mischievously order a [Sexy Midnight Female Anchor Voice] for himself.
……
Weir Mountain was located at the northernmost part of Beautiful Flower Town, where the Strawberry Music Festival was held every March 31st.
No one knew what went wrong with this year’s music festival. The northern towns, including Weir Mountain, had completely changed. The plants had become strange and many children with them, and even started killing people.
People had left their original homes and rebuilt a town in the southern vicinity. So far, the southern town, separated by a forest and a river from the northern one, seemed to be still normal.
This was the information Zhou Qian obtained along the way.
It took about an hour to get from Eva’s house to the witches’ headquarters. Everyone’s points dropped by one.
Zhou Qian’s current life points were “22”.
The witches’ base was located deep in the valley. The bus raced along a very rugged mountain road, bringing everyone here. The valley was covered by numerous clouds and mist. Looking down from above, one would only think this place was a cliff. No one would think that there was a witches’ base at the bottom of the cliff.
The base was built like a normal village, consisting of many bungalows, where they also grew a lot of vegetables and fruits, allowing the witches to be self-sufficient.
Shortly after getting off the bus, Zhou Qian and his group encountered a woman. She had brown wavy long hair and was crouching by the roadside at the moment. With a pale face and a sad expression, she was arranging stones on the road into some shape, as if casting a spell.
When she saw Sarah, she stood up and nodded to her. “The president is back. These are…”
She glanced in the direction behind her and squeezed out a pale but very heartfelt smile. “Indeed, survivors have been found. Thank you all. You are going to search the town again in the afternoon, right? This time, you can call me. It’s my turn to help.”
“These survivors were found at your house.” Sarah explained to Eva and then turned her head to introduce to everyone. “This is Eva. I don’t know how you guys got trapped in her house. You can talk to her. I have something else to do. Eva, you arrange their accommodation.”
After speaking, Sarah left with the other three witches.
Eva looked at Zhou Qian and others somewhat excitedly. Of course, she couldn’t see their faces clearly.
Sarah specifically warned, in order not to expose their male identities, even if there was no evil spirit infection here, they still had to wear their masks first. So, the seven players were all wrapped up tightly.
“How, how did you appear in my house? Did you go to the study?” Eva asked.
“Yes,” Zhou Qian replied. “Why… would we come to the study in your house?”
Eva sighed. “I once cast a summoning spell in the study, saying it could communicate with people from other worlds. I was originally looking for my daughter’s soul. I didn’t expect that, after many days… It brought you here. Sorry, I brought you to Beautiful Flower Town. It has been occupied by evil spirits. Fortunately… President Sarah found you.”
Thus, Eva’s words explained why the players appeared in this world.
After hearing her words, Zhou Qian couldn’t help asking, “Your daughter…”
At this time, Eva burst into tears; she seemed to be unable to control her sorrow.
Squatting down, she continued to arrange the stones on the roadside and replied softly, “She’s dead. I set up this formation here, thinking… Maybe her soul is still in this world. I want to communicate with her. This formation can guide her soul to find me.”
“What happened to her? Can you tell us? Otherwise…”
Zhou Qian exchanged glances with the other players behind him; his tone became more threatening. “We will think you are the murderer. After all, we found two bodies in your house. Although we come from ‘another world’, we can still call the police and bring you to justice.”
Coming to the witch’s camp and meeting Eva was an unexpected gain. Zhou Qian had to seize the opportunity to ask about the details.
When Zhou Qian himself asked the question, his expression seemed very natural, without any discomfort.
However, Qi Liuxing, who was behind him, frowned more and more.
He thought that Zhou Qian’s sultry female anchor voice was simply… indescribable.
“I didn’t kill her… She was killed by an evil spirit!” Eva responded, her eyes red, “You saw two bodies… One is in the freezer, right? That’s the body of my daughter’s good friend Lina.”
“My daughter Lily was possessed by an evil spirit, and the spirit killed Lina through her hands. When I came back home in the early morning and saw everything… When I saw Lina’s heart taken out, I realized something was wrong!
“At that time, my daughter was already dead. Her flesh was occupied by the evil spirit, and her soul was already gone…”
Eva’s subsequent narrative was similar to Zhou Qian’s previous speculation but filled in more details.
According to Eva, when she returned home the morning after the Strawberry Music Festival, Lily had not yet turned into a monster.
She immediately realized that her daughter must have been possessed by an evil spirit. Lily and Lina, although not sisters by blood, were very close, and Lily absolutely had no possibility of killing Lina. Besides, where would a child have the strength to take a heart out with her bare hands?
After killing Lina, Lily’s body might not have been able to withstand the power of the evil spirit for a while. So, when Eva came back, Lily’s body was in a fainting state.
On the carpet where she fainted, there was a bottle of overturned nail polish. Perhaps before the crime occurred, she and Lina were playing by applying nail polish to each other, but the tragedy happened so unexpectedly.
Eva knew something had happened to her daughter, so she immediately took advantage of her convenience as a nurse and gave her a shot of anesthetic, then cut off one of her fingers and some hair, trying to summon her soul back through a spell.
But it was of no avail.
She couldn’t feel her daughter’s soul.
Hearing this, Zhou Qian finally got an answer about the finger and hair in the wardrobe.
Besides, the finger was cut off before Lily’s body turned into a monster, which was why it didn’t change like the rest of her body.
Eva continued, “At first, I didn’t directly deal with the monster. Because I was still fantasizing… maybe I could keep trying, and one day I could summon my daughter’s soul back. I have to ensure my daughter’s body is intact so her soul can return to the body and come back to life. So at first, I just locked that evil spirit in the room.”
Taking a deep breath, Eva wiped her tears and said, “But things gradually got out of my control. Her face was the first to change, growing lumps, and her tongue split in two. As for her forehead, it even grew… something like dark green scales…
“After that, her limbs, her torso—all were ruined. The word ‘monster’ isn’t enough to describe her appearance.”
“In the end, I received instructions from President Sarah… The child in her neighbor’s house turned into a monster, consuming the whole family. This is, it’s just too horrifying. I can’t let the evil spirit in my family continue like this anymore. Once it becomes stronger, if I can’t control it… it will kill more people. My only option is to get rid of it and dissect my daughter’s body, where it resided, placing the parts in different locations, to seal the evil spirit. Now you all…”
“If you remove the limbs, it will destroy my formation. I’m really afraid you would release that evil spirit… The consequences are unimaginable. However, Sarah will definitely check with her crystal ball. If she brought you here, you should be fine. This is truly a blessing in disguise.”
Her daughter was possessed by an evil spirit, and to prevent it from harming others, she had to dissect her daughter’s corpse herself. This act, for anyone, was extremely cruel. But at the same time, it was a great and selfless act.
Thus, Eva’s expression was very contradictory. When talking about dissecting, she first broke down crying but immediately thought that her daughter had already been killed by the evil spirit; she was just dividing a useless body into different parts, setting up a formation, and sealing the evil spirit. She felt that she had made a contribution to the other people in the town, so her eyes were gleaming faintly.
As a mother, she was saddened by this. But as a witch, and a witch wanting to contribute to the townspeople, she was proud of herself.
It could be seen that she was deeply influenced by Sarah.
Every witch here seemed to be very influenced by Sarah.
After wiping away her tears, she added a few more stones and finished the formation. Eva stood up and said to the players, “You have seen what the town has become. We are really working for the town. I am definitely not a murderer. Let’s go. I’ll arrange a place for you to stay.”
At this point, the players had no choice but to follow Eva further into the witches’ base. On the way, Zhou Qian noticed that one side of the entire road was occupied by stones arranged in some form.
They were soul summoning formations, arranged neatly, emitting a somewhat eerie feel, as if they could really guide the lost souls back.
Why are there so many soul summoning formations? Just how many people have died?
Zhou Qian and his group soon left the road, heading towards the reasonably maintained houses. Suddenly, Zhou Qian caught a glimpse of something and turned his head to the left, seeing a large graveyard next to a green vegetable field. The graveyard wasn’t small, with at least dozens of tombstones.
Some very bad premonitions and guesses had completely formed in Zhou Qian’s mind at this time. He stopped and looked at Eva, asking seriously, “These tombstones… do they all belong to children?”
Eva answered, “Yes. But there are no skeletons under the tombstones. After all, they are all in various places in the town. These can only be considered cenotaphs, just to commemorate. The tombstone I made for my daughter Lily… buried underneath it is her favorite hairpin.”
Behind Zhou Qian, Ke Yuxiao apparently thought of the same horrifying thing. He asked, “Did all the children in Beautiful Flower Town… die?”
“Yes. They’re all dead.” Eva’s pale face, illuminated by the sunlight, had no trace of blood.
She said, “Almost all the children in the town went to the music festival. After coming back, they were all possessed by evil spirits. Those like Lina who were sick, feverish, and didn’t go because of other reasons, were either killed by their possessed friends who gouged out their hearts or their intestines.”
On the other side. Li Buhui’s left wrist vibrated. He looked down and saw a message from the Female Warrior Yin Jiujiu.
“I have some ideas for the operation. Be ready. Follow my instructions. I might act at any time.”
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